Unforgivable
by Elsian
Summary: Charles does the right thing, in entirely the wrong way. Charles/Erik


"Peace was never an option." Erik finished, looking at Charles with conviction, and Charles knew without having to read his mind that Erik was never going to be swayed in his decision to kill Sebastian Shaw, or Klaus Schmidt or whatever moniker the man had chosen to live under in recent times. Charles took a sip from his tumbler, moving his chess piece to take Erik's bishop.

"You are playing slowly tonight." Erik commented, moving a pawn seemingly without goal, but Charles knew for a fact that was not true. Everything Erik did was aimed at the end game, taking out the King, whilst not the most powerful piece, the one that would bring the battle to its conclusion. It was hard not to see the comparisons between themselves in the pieces, though Charles was loathe to label himself queen, he was unquestionably more dangerous than Erik could ever be. It was not arrogance that allowed him to think this so freely, despite Erik's assumptions, and he knew Erik would be inclined to agree, not that the man would ever admit it out loud. Charles's morals were the only thing holding him back from being incredibly dangerous, the most dangerous piece of the set as it were. Erik was undoubtedly the driving force of the two of them, in the confrontation with Shaw at least and as such, the king of their little mutant chess set, his goals always set on the king of the opposing side.

As it was with them, Emma was clearly the more dangerous of the two, but her capture had not stopped Shaw in his advances, and they were now on the brink of war, the climax of the match. Charles played carelessly, his thoughts dwelling more on the day that was to come rather than on the match in front of him, and Erik took the game easily.

"You are not on form tonight Charles. Does the situation in Cuba trouble you that much?" Erik leant forward and took Charles hand in his, the motion taking the Englishman by surprise. Whilst not adverse to their 'association' in the slightest, it was a rare occasion that he would make any gesture of affection towards Charles outside of the bedroom. Even within, Erik was just as aggressive, just as volatile as he was in his attitude towards anything, and he had yet to remain the night in Charles bed, always leaving Charles to wake cold and alone. Charles was stuck for words as he watched Erik's thumb move soothingly over the back of his hand, grazing his knuckles gently.

He realised in that moment that if it came down to it, Erik would leave him and he closed his eyes in despair.

He gripped Erik's hand and moved around the table into the other man's lap, one knee on the chair in between Erik's legs as large hands gripped his hips, caressing lightly as they never had before. Erik had always been prone to gripping, bruising, never coddling. One hand slipped into Charles's hair, grasping tightly and pulling Charles mouth down to meet his own. Though the kiss itself was gentle, Charles couldn't help but smirk against Erik's mouth at the gesture. He might be trying, but he couldn't hold himself back entirely.

And wasn't that just the problem?

Charles sighed and closed his eyes, pulling Erik to him by the front of his shirt and pushing his tongue past Erik's lips, tracing his mouth and letting his hands drift to grip Erik's shoulders. The other man sat up in his seat, one hand gripping the arm of the chair and the other firmly around Charles waist, pulling him tightly against his body, Charles elbows pressed between them uncomfortably. Slowly, as he tasted Erik as thoroughly as possible, memorising every crevice of his mouth, he let his hands travel, brushing Erik's neck and carding his hands into his hair, nails scratching the back of the other man's head ever so slightly. Erik groaned into Charles mouth, gripping at his cardigan.

"Perhaps we should move this elsewhere." he said, not really a suggestion as a demand, but Charles ignored him, tears slowly starting to gather at the corner of his eyes as he steeled himself.

"I'm so sorry Erik." He whispered against his mouth, and although it was futile and far too late, Erik stiffened, pushing against Charles's shoulders with all his strength. Charles had the advantage of his weight though, keeping Erik pinned, although he would not be able to keep it up for longer than a few moments against Erik's experience. A few moments however, was far longer than he needed. Despite Erik's increasing struggle, he kissed him on the mouth once more, pulling back as Erik attempted to bite him, and a tear slipped down his cheek.

"I'm so sorry." he repeated "but I think it's best you forget me, and everything else."

Raven found Charles much later, agitated from her encounter with Hank and further enraged by the lack of appearance from Erik after she'd waited in his room for a solid two hours. She'd stormed down to the kitchen to find Charles sat with his back to her at the kitchen table, and was more than ready to unleash her wrath on him, finding him fully to blame for everything she found flawed in her life in that moment.

However, as she approached him, all the venom ran from her as she noticed his red rimmed eyes and worn countenance. He did not acknowledge her approach, staring blankly at the wooden table.

"Charles?" she said softly, tempted to reach out, but feeling it would be a mistake. "Charles's what's the matter?"

Charles looked up and blinked, apparently only just realising that his sister had even entered the room. He let out a choked laugh, and Raven flinched.

"Oh Raven." he croaked, voice strained. "I have done something unforgivable."


End file.
